The Migrant Worker—In the Depth of Darkness

Sangeeta Rana

The ‘outsider’ is here to stay. No stranger, no foreigner nor an unknown entity, the migrant worker has carved out an identity for himself, and built a paltry infrastructure to support his existence. Resigned to his fate, the migrant worker chooses not to challenge the establishment.

The images presented here are from two series: The Migrant Worker: A Silhouette Representation and The Migrant Worker: A Conspicuous Representation, that run parallel.

In the images from the first series, the migrant worker though within the frame is isolated and alienated from his own body of work, uninfluenced by the development and economic growth that he unwittingly fires. The structures he stands on, as he works, are as fragile as the infrastructure he has built around himself—tenuous, yet giving him a false sense of security.

In the second series, the migrant worker, though absent in the frame, makes his presence felt by the hype of urban development around him. However, in the depth of the darkness lies a light. Drawn like a moth to a flame, the spotlight that the migrant worker works in is his beacon of hope.